Back in the 80s I remember Yasser Arafat standing up in the UN with a picture of an Israeli 10 Agorot coin, claiming that it was a map of Greater Israel and was proof that Israel was planning to wipe "Palestine" off the Map.
The claim was ridiculous for several reasons - the image on the map was based on the remains of an ancient coin, and didn't really resemble a map of anything - if you were trying to impose a map over the shape of the coin, it would be a very strange map as Yes it would include parts of Jordan, but did not include the Galilee...What made the claim even more ridiculous was that while Arafat was speaking is his military uniform (complete with gun), on his sleeve was a clear map of 'Palestine" which clearly wiped Israel off the map, yet none of the World leaders in the UN though it polite to point this out.
Fast forward 20 years, recently the Palestine Solidarity Campaign proudly proclaimed victory for getting the London Underground to remove a poster promoting tourism to Israel for including a map which only faintly marked the 1949 armistice line (look carefully at the map, the “Green Line” is clearly marked in white. Photo courtesy of Greens Engage)
In spite of the fact that the Green Line is clearly marked on the map, and tourism to Israel would benefit both Jews and Arabs living here, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign were proud of their victory.
Now let’s take a quick look at the logo of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (on the left). Notice anything missing from the map of “Palestine”? Clue: it’s the World's only Jewish Country.
Memo to PM Netanyahu: Now that Israel has recognized the rights of the Palestinians to a state, lets stop ALL negotiations until they do exactly the same and redesign their logos to include a map that acknowledges that there is a Jewish State in the area.
1 comment:
I don't mind you using the pic Michael (thanks for the namecheck) - but you did take it out of context. My argument was that a graphic designer would have realised that skinny white lines on a yellow background wouldn't show up. I find the argument that they are there *if you look closely* unconvincing. The idea that Gaza is on the Israeli tourist circuit is worse than ludicrous. As I said in my post, Israel rightly protests the frequent attempts to write off its existence on various maps; Palestinians and their supporters also rightly protest.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign's hypocrisy lies in its blatant wiping of Israel of the map while protesting the wiping of Palestine off the map. This is dangerous particularism and typical bias from the PSC.
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